Does Not Glitter
by Iusedtobesomeone
Summary: Sometimes, a certain smell wil take me back to when I was young. [how come I'm never able to identify where it's coming from] Unfortunately, Phil knows exactly what it's coming from and all of the memories that follow. Explains Phil's dislike for cheese in one long flashback. -high school!phan au-


"Daaaaann!" I call from my perch on the couch. "Someone's at the door!"

I hear him get up from wherever he is and answer it. There is a muffled exchange and then the sound of the door shutting. He walks into the room carrying a large pizza box.

"Someone ordered it.." He looks helplessly at me as he says it. "We might as well not let it go to waste."

I nod slowly as my friend sits down next to me, setting the box down on the coffee table and opening the lid. I will myself not to throw up as the greasy smell of the baked cheese hits my nose. While I might be able to keep my nose's disagreements with the gift to a minimum, I can't stop my brain as it starts the movie rolling. I can't stop my eyes from watering as I think of that moment. Of how happy I was. Of all the heartbreak that followed.

I never thought that just a smell could bring back so much. I thought that I wasn't that weak anymore. I had promised myself I wasn't that weak anymore, that I couldn't think of that time, that we were better this way, as friends. But none of it would stop time's arms dragging me back to a place I would both kill to relive and rather die than relive.

 _All that is gold does not glitter-_

My book is violently snatched from my hands as I try to keep my eyes away from the one thing that is glittering in the room- the awful suit of the boy in front of me. It has a metallic brown pair of pants and suit jacket, both absolutely covered in tiny silver rhinestones. However, the face that goes along with the clothes isn't particularly soothing to look at either, so I settle for staring over his shoulder. He seems to enjoy my discomfort and leers down at me.

"This is a dance, idiot. You're not supposed to be reading, especially not some Lord of the Hoops shit."

I can barely hear him over the blaring music and constant roar of voices in the crowded gym, but what I do catch still exasperates me. No one these days seems to appreciate literature, especially Tolkien. Unfortunately, while my current tormenter may look like a troll, he won't turn to stone at morning's light.

"What do you want?" I mumble. "Leave me alone."

He pushes me down as I try to get up from my seat in the corner, laughing at me all the while. Apparently the reaction I give him is satisfactory enough, so he tosses my paperback to the middle of the floor, then turns to grin idiotically at his next victim.

I get up again to try and walk away, but then remember that my precious book is still in he room. Sighing, I weigh the possibility of getting my book back and the certainty at least being completely embarrassed and laughed at by the rest of my grade (not that that didn't already happen, but for the most part I was ignored). Upon looking up, I see that my book has already been trampled by the many people, so I take my cue to leave.

I weave through the crowd until I reach the doors. Stepping out, I realize just how stuffy the air really was. Taking several deal breaths to calm myself, I almost feel well until I realize the dance won't be over for another three hours, and I have no one to pick me up until then; my mum and dad both work late on Fridays.

I walk towards a bench and sit down, not even realizing until he clears his throat that there is someone else there as well. I start to stand up, thoroughly embarrassed, but his voice stops me.

"I don't bite," he says, seemingly amused. "The benches are meant for more than one person, you know."

I hesitate, then sit back down, thinking it would be rude to walk away after he so blatantly invited me to sit there. Taking a deep breath, I turn to look at the boy next to me.

"Hi. My name's Phi-" I falter when I see him. The boy is lounging on the bench in a way that makes him seem as if he has not a care in the world. His feathery brown hair drifts across his face in a long fringe, and his eyes. They stare at my face as if searching for something, their soft brown irises warm with something I can't quite decipher. They seem to find what they wanted to, for he smiles.

"I was at the dance, but I saw you get some unwanted attention and figured I'd get out of there before it was directed at me. I'm sorry about your book." He frowns. "My name's Dan, by the way."

"Mine's Phil," I repeat. Shaking myself, I search for something to say. "I haven't seen you around much- do you go here?"

"Yeah. Well, I do now," he says, laughing uncomfortably. "I transferred to this school this week. My mum thought the dance would be a great way to meet new people, but…" he shrugs, "Well, no one really wants to meet me. Not that I blame them." He says this in a rush, as if a bit embarrassed.

I think back to my first day of high school and awful it was. If this guy just transferred, he must be having a ten times worse experience. I can't imagine what that would be like.

"Yeah. My mum's always worried about the how little friends I have, and the fact that I've been here for three years and haven't mentioned a girl I was interested in once doesn't help. I guess she thought by forcing me to go to all the socials I might get a girlfriend. But really, it won't do any good.. not that she knows that, of course." I curse myself for blurting out the last part, how much more obvious could I have been? However, Dan doesn't seem fazed, in fact, he's smiling a bit more now. I wonder why he moved here? Would it be rude to ask? Can't hurt to try, I guess.

"Why'd you come here?"

He hesitates for a moment, then answers. "My old town was really boring. It was filled with farms, and practically nothing else. We didn't even have a single pizza place! My parents wanted me to grow up in a more 'real' place, I guess."

I feel like he isn't telling the whole truth, but as soon as he mentioned pizza, my stomach started grumbling, and I realized just how hungry I was.

He seems to notice as well, and with a grin, asks me if I'd like to grab a slice. Never one to turn down an opportunity as such, I agree, jumping to my feet with him following. We walk the few block to the pizza place before I realize the problem. We stop in front of the neon sign as I frantically pat down my pockets, concluding that they are all completely empty.

"Er… Dan? I just realized I don't have any money with me," I say dejectedly.

Instead of being disappointed, he shrugs and ushers me in through the doors. "I can pay," he says. "Why don't you go grab a table?" I nod gratefully and make way through the practically empty restaurant towards a booth in the back. I sit down and look towards the counter, where Dan is chatting with the girl working there. They talk in such an easy I'm tempted to go over an join their conversations. When the girl slides the slices over to Dan, she winks, and I feel a wave of jealousy. I have a feeling I'm about to do something really stupid, so I repress the urge to storm over and interrupt their exchange of banter. Just as I'm about to give in, Dan grabs the plates and walks over to my table, setting one down in front of me and sliding in next to me.

"I bought you two slices; you seemed to need them." He laughs. I relax a bit and thank him, picking up a piece and taking a large bite. I regret this as soon as I look over at him, since I seem to lose the ability to chew properly. He has picked up his slice and lifted it to his lips. They part, letting him take a bite, then curve back together, releasing a sigh at the admittedly amazing food. His tongue darts out between his lips, licking the grease off in a long sweeping motion. I only look away when they curl into a mischievous grin, realizing he has noticed me staring. A blush blooms on my face, and it only deepens when he reaches over and brushes a thumb over my lips.

"You had a piece of cheese there." His voice is deeper than I expected, and his finger lingers longer than is necessary. His hand slowly moves to cup my jaw. I can feel my heart beating in my chest. Is this really going to happen, and with someone I met half an hour ago? My body seems to think so, because I lean forward, and the only thing I can think about before are lips meet are the little flecks of _gold_ in his eyes.


End file.
